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BANCROFT 
LIBRARY 

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THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 


THE 
UNION  LABEL 

Its  History  and  Aims 


PRIZE  ESSAYS 

PUBLISHED    BY 

American   Federation  of  Labor 

8O1-8O9  G  STREET,  NORTHWEST 
WASHINGTON,    D.   C. 


EPIGRAMS 

By   SAMUEL  GOMPERS 

Persistence  wins !  No  power,  however 
strongly  intrenched,  was  ever  able  to  with- 
stand a  rightful  cause  when  persistently 
pressed  forward. 

Show  your  interest  in  your  own  welfare 
by  organizing,  attending  the  meetings  of 
your  union,  and  living  every  day  the  prin- 
ciples it  inculcates. 

All  the  efforts  of  antagonists  against  the 
cause  of  labor  simply  arouse  greater  inter- 
est among  the  wage  workers,  who  are  real- 
izing more  clearly  every  day  that  their  only 
hope  for  protection  against  injustice  now, 
and  for  their  liberty  in  the  future,  lies  in 
their  more  thorough  organization. 

If  the  wage  earners  would  only  realize 
and  understand  what  force  and  power  there 
is  in  organization  and  unity  of  action,  and 
how  unconquerable  and  invincible  would  be 
the  hosts  of  labor  so  united,  surely  they 
would  join  the  union  in  greater  numbers 
and  the  organized  would  cease  their  strife 
and  unite  in  one  solid  body.  All  labor 
would  then  be  in  a  position  to  receive  that 
justice  from  the  capitalists'  class  and  from 
modern  society  to  which  it  is  so  justly 
entitled. 


6  H 

Biaa 

Union  Label  Prize  Essays 

FIRST  PRIZE  ESSAY 
By  WALTER  MACARTHER 

THE  power  of  the  union 
label  is  proved  by  its  progress. 
The  union  label  signifies  the 
application  in  industrial  life 
of  those  rules  which  every 
good  citizen  applies  in  indi- 
^^^^  vidual  life — cleanliness,  mo- 
rality, honesty,  chivalry  toward  woman,  and 
care  for  the  young. 

Originating  in  1874,  in  the  white  label  of 
*i  the  San  Francisco  cigarmakers,  followed  in 
^  1875  by  the  red  label  of  the  same  craft  in 
"\  St.  Louis,  and  permanently  established  in 
-  1880,  at  the  convention  of  the  Cigarmakers' 
J  International  Union,  by  the  adoption  of 
^  "the  other  color  in  the  flag" — the  familiar 
"  blue  label  of  today — the  union  label  has  be- 
^x  come  the  emblem  and  guarantee  of  fair 
labor  in  three  empires,  the  United  States, 
o  Great  Britain,  and  Australia. 

During  less  than  25  years'  use  in  national 

"  trade  unionism  the  scope  of  the  union  label 

^  has  extended  from  a  single  industry  so  that 

j  .it  now  includes  more  than  fifty  crafts  in 

T  North  America,  whose  products  enter  into 


almost  every  article  of  household  and  per- 
sonal use. 

The  union  label  derives  its  power  from 
the  fact  that  it  is  based  upon  the  first  law 
of  nature,  the  law  that  "motion  seeks  the 
line  of  least  resistance." 

Stated  in  concrete  terms,  the  union  label 
is  powerful  because  it  accomplishes  by 
peaceful  means,  with  absolute  certainty 
and  at  little  cost,  that  which  the  strike  and 
boycott  seek  to  accomplish,  always  at  great 
cost  and  sacrifice. 

The  workers  who  strike  in  protest  against 
their  wrongs  may  be  defeated,  but  the 
public  protest  registered  in  the  demand  for 
the  union  label  is  invincible. 

The  union  label  enlists  and  arms  in  labor's 
cause  those  elements  which  determine  the 
issue  of  every  cause  in  civilized  society — 
namely,  the  women  and  children. 

The  instincts  of  woman  and  the  interests 
of  labor  are  conjoined  in  the  union  label. 
Both  stand  for  cleanliness,  morality,  the 
care  of  the  young,  the  sanctity  of  the  home ; 
both  stand  against  strife  and  force.  The 
union  label  makes  woman  the  strongest,  as 
she  is  the  gentlest  of  God's  creatures. 

The  mistress  of  the  household  represents 
the  "purchasing  power."  She  cannot  go 
on  strike,  but  she  can  obviate  the  necessity 
of  striking  by  demanding  the  union  label. 


With  the  "purchasing  power"  in  her 
pocket  and  the  union  label  in  her  heart, 
woman  reigns  with  the  olive  branch.  She  is 
mistress  of  the  situation. 

To  the  woman  of  the  trade  unionist  house- 
hold the  union  label  affords  a  guarantee 
that  the  wages  earned  under  union  condi- 
tions are  expended  upon  union  products 
and  for  the  maintenance  of  union  condi- 
tions, to  return  with  interest  in  improved 
conditions  for  all. 

By  demanding  the  union  label  the  wife  of 
the  trade  unionist  becomes  truly  the  help- 
meet of  the  breadwinner,  her  powerful  in- 
fluence being  thus  extended  from  the  home 
to  the  workshop,  from  which  she  is  other- 
wise totally  excluded. 

The  child  who  demands  the  union  label 
wields  more  influence  than  the  man  or 
woman  who  strikes.  The  strikers'  place 
may  be  filled,  but  there  is  no  substitute  for 
the  union  label. 

The  union  label  transforms  the  women 
and  children  of  the  working  class  into 
towers  of  strength.  Without  it  they  are 
often  elements  of  weakness  in  the  struggle 
for  bread. 

The  union  label  is  the  unmistakable  sign 
of  practical  co-operation  between  employer 
and  employe.  The  demand  for  the  union 
label  completes  the  relationship  necessary 


to  the  most  effective  practice  of  co-opera- 
tion by  making  the  purchaser  also  a  part- 
ner in  the  business. 

The  union  label  unites  all  interests  that 
lie  in  the  improvement  of  industrial  condi- 
tions through  the  abolition  of  the  sweat- 
shop, tenement  house,  insanitary  factory, 
convict  labor,  Chinese  labor,  night  labor, 
and  child  labor.  Each  of  these  evils  has 
its  antidote  in  the  union  label. 

Each  circle  formed  in  the  interest  of  a 
particular  reform  expands  toward  the  oth- 
ers, until  all  meet  and  merge  in  one  great 
body,  constituting  a  purchasing  power 
quickened  by  conscience,  directed  by  in- 
telligence, and  concentrated  with  unerring 
precision. 

The  union  label,  symbolizing  as  it  does 
the  conditions  which  the  union  itself  is  es- 
tablished to  secure  and  maintain,  is  proof 
that  these  conditions  obtain  in  the  making 
of  the  article  upon  which  it  appears.  Firm 
names,  brands,  trade-marks,  and  other  de- 
vices by  which  products  are  advertised  may 
lose  their  original  significance  through 
changes  in  the  fortunes  of  those  who  own 
them.  The  union  label,  being  owned  by  the 
union  and  subject  exclusively  to  its  control, 
represents  the  same  thing  always,  namely, 
fair  wages  and  hours,  clean  workshops,  and 
good  workmanship. 


The  union  label  stands  always  for  the 
facts  of  today,  never  for  a  tradition  of 
yesterday. 

The  union  label  stands  primarily  for  union 
industry.  As  such  it  is  an  indispensable 
complement  of  "home  industry,"  or  other 
shibboleth  of  business,  in  the  mind  of  the 
purchaser  who  holds  principle  above  local 
pride.  The  union  label  is,  indeed,  the  only 
guarantee  that  the  products  of  any  industry 
are  fit  to  enter  decent  and  cleanly  homes. 

The  distinguishing  characteristic  of  the 
union  label  is  its  assurance  against  decep- 
tion. When  an  article  ceases  to  be  union- 
made  it  ceases  to  bear  the  union  label. 

In  a  word,  the  union  label  is  a  weapon 
with  which  the  trade  union  arms  the  fair 
employer  and  disarms  the  unfair  employer. 

Uses  of  the  Union  Label  to  the  Trade  Union. 

It  disarms  opposition  and  conquers  preju- 
dice. 

It  commands  the  respect  and  protection 
of  the  courts  and  state. 

It  is  invulnerable  to  the  injunction,  the 
lockouts,  and  the  blacklist. 

It  supersedes  the  boycott  by  concen^- 
trating  the  purchasing  power  upon  union 
products. 

It   facilitates  organization  by  increasing 


the  demand  for  the  products  of  organized 
workers. 

It  constitutes  recognition  of  the  union 
by  making  certain  the  recognition  of  union 
products. 

It  protects  the  trade  union  against  attack 
by  constituting  the  purchaser  the  real  em- 
ployer. 

It  makes  the  strike  unnecessary  by  mak- 
ing compliance  with  union  conditions  an 
advantage  in  business. 

It  is  the  most  economical  agency  of  trade 
union  work,  its  cost  being  little  compared 
to  its  results. 

It  is  a  constant  reminder  of  the  common 
interest  and  common  duty  of  all  trade 
unionists  in  and  toward  each  other,  and  a 
certain  guide  in  the  discharge  of  that  duty. 

It  is  a  weapon  that  profits  the  employer 
equally  with  the  employe,  but  only  so  long 
as  both  aim  at  the  same  object.  It  can 
never  be  turned  against  the  employe,  be- 
cause it  is  the  latter's  exclusive  property, 
to  be  given  or  withdrawn  at  pleasure. 

Uses  to  the  Employer. 

It  is  the  best  medium  of  advertising. 
It  is  advertising  that  costs  nothing.    The 
union  pays  for  it. 

It  guarantees  full  returns  on  the  outlay 


in  the  form  of  increased  business. 

It  enlists  the  unions,  their  members  and 
friends,  in  the  interest  of  the  employer. 

It  insures  stability  in  business,  because 
the  principles  it  stands  for  are  sound,  en- 
during, and  unchangeable. 

It  saves  time  and  talk  in  making  sales. 
It  sells  itself,  and  it  never  deceives  the  pur- 
chaser. 

It  signifies  merit  in  the  article — the  merit 
of  good,  clean  workmanship — as  well  as 
the  principles  of  fair  play  in  the  treatment 
of  employes. 

Uses  to  the  Public. 

It  is  essentially  an  emblem  of  peace,  both 
in  suggestion  and  in  practice. 

It  educates,  organizes,  and  directs  the 
public,  making  the  purchaser  the  intelligent 
ally,  instead  of  the  indifferent  foe,  of  labor. 

It  directs  and  concentrates  public  senti- 
ment against  the  evils  peculiar  to  certain 
industries  and  against  the  evils  common  to 
many  industries. 

It  is  the  medium  through  which  the  pub- 
lic may  enforce  its  rightful  power  of  ar- 
bitrament between  employer  and  employe. 

It  is  the  inspiration,  the  guide-post,  and 
the  rallying  point  of  the  energetic  and  con- 
scientious women  in  every  community.  It 
gives  us  the  Woman's  Union  Label  League, 


It  is  peculiarly  adapted  to  the  nature  of 
that  factor  which  typifies  the  highest  mo- 
rality and  controls  the  purchasing  power 
of  every  community,  to  wit,  the  mistress  of 
the  household. 

It  appeals  not  to  force,  but  to  reason; 
establishes  confidence  in  place  of  fear; 
makes  no  one  ashamed ;  but,  on  the  con- 
trary, invites  and  encourages  the  people  to 
take  pride  in  well-doing. 

It  is  a  standing  declaration  of  the  moral 
duty  devolving  upon  the  purchaser  to  in- 
quire into  the  cost  at  which  an  article  is 
produced,  as  well  as  the  cost  at  which  it  is 
sold. 

It  organizes  the  purchasing  power  upon 
lines  of  fair  conditions  of  labor,  as  against 
those  conditions  that  destroy  the  health 
and  morality  of  the  producer  and  endanger 
the  well-being  of  the  purchaser. 

It  is  an  appeal  to  principle — principle 
that  is  above  price  ;  the  principle  that  a  dol- 
lar expended  in  the  maintenance  of  fair 
labor  is  worth  more  in  the  end  than  a  dol- 
lar saved  at  the  bargain  counter. 

It  is  the  "In  Hoc  Signo  Vinces"  of  the 
crusade  to  rescue  the  child  from  the  work- 
shop, factory  and  mill;  the  woman  from 
the  sweatshop  and  tenement  house,  and  the 
millions  of  labor  from  the  clutches  of 
greed,  degradation,  and  poverty. 

8 


SECOND  PRIZE  ESSAY 

By  P.  H.  SHEVLJN 

EMERSON  says  that  an  in- 
stitution is  the  "lengthening 
shadow  of  some  one  man." 
Many  of  the  world's  most 
majestic  achievements  were 
once  nothing  but  vague  ideal- 
isms, compassless  and  pur- 
poseless, in  the  brain  of  some 
one  man.  Within  the  skull  of  a  Fulton,  a 
Howe,  or  a  Morse  were  once  coursing 
around,  uncontrolled  and  undestined, 
thoughts  that  are  today  the  motors  of  the 
world.  So  it  is  with  the  labor  movement. 
When  the  historian  of  the  future  shall  take 
as  his  subject  the  "American  Federation  of 
Labor,"  upon  his  pen  point  will  continu- 
ously fall  the  lengthening  shadow  of  one 
man,  Samuel  Gompers. 

The  union  label  or  "union  stamp"  is 
strictly  American  in  origin.  Many  Cana- 
dain  trade  unionists  have  utilized  it  for 
some  13  years,  and  British  organizations, 
heretofore  apathetic,  have  within  the  past 
18  months  taken  up  the  subject  with  prom- 
ising seriousness. 

San  Francisco  was  the  birthplace  of  the 
label  in  the  year  1874.  To  the  cigarmakers 

9 


belongs  the  glory  of  first  employing  this 
potent  instrumentality  of  organized  labor. 
During  the  sand  lot  agitation  for  Chinese 
exclusion,  a  firm  of  cigar  manufacturers 
took  on  coolie  labor.  The  unionists  present- 
ed an  intelligent  and  determined  resistance. 
Assured  of  public  patronage,  the  perplexity 
arose  as  to  how  the  purchaser  could  dis- 
criminate between  a  union  cigar,  manufac- 
tured under  sanitary  conditions,  and  the 
rat-shop,  coolie-made,  filthy  product. 

The  solution  came — all  boxes  must  be 
certified.  From  this  sprang  the  greatest 
idea  of  the  grandest  institution  on  earth — 
the  label  of  the  labor  movement. 

At  first  a  white  label  was  used,  to  indi- 
cate that  the  cigars  were  made  by  white 
labor,  as  opposed  to  the  yellow  of  the 
Orient.  During  a  strike  of  the  cigarmakers 
in  St.  Louis,  the  following  year,  the  color 
of  the  local  union  label  was  printed  in  red. 
In  the  Chicago  convention  of  1880,  a  wran- 
gle having  arisen  between  the  "whites"  and 
the  "reds"  on  the  subject  of  label  chro- 
matics, a  ready-witted  delegate  restored 
harmony  by  shouting:  "Stop  squabbling 
and  take  the  other  color  on  the  flag."  Thus 
the  present  blue  label  was  adopted. 

From  the  foregoing  it  will  be  noted  that 
sanitation  was  the  original  basis  of  the 
label.  And  while  the  years  have  expanded 

10 


the  uses,  aims,  purposes,  and  aspirations  of 
the  workingman's  trade-mark,  the  question 
of  healthful  conditions  still  remains  one  of 
the  primal  reasons  for  its  employment. 
President  Roosevelt,  referring  to  filthy  ten- 
ement workmanship  in  New  York  City, 
once  declared  in  a  speech  in  the  Assembly 
of  the  New  York  Legislature,  of  which  he 
was  then  a  member:  "I  have  visited  these 
pest  holes  personally,  and  I  assure  you  if 
smokers  could  only  see  how  these  cigars 
are  made  we  should  not  need  any  legisla- 
tion against  this  system." 

Other  unions,  noting  the  label's  success, 
set  about  adopting  trade-marks.  The  hat- 
ters' label  appeared  in  1885;  the  garment- 
makers'  the  following  year,  and  in  1891  the 
label  idea  was  appropriated  by  the  printers, 
ironmolders,  shoemakers,  horseshoers,  and 
other  crafts.  Following  this  utilization 
came  efforts  to  secure  statutory  recognition. 
The  cigarmakers'  label  has  been  legalized 
in  31  states ;  other  labels  have  been  ex- 
tended similar  recognition,  and  the  tendency 
of  up-to-date  legislation  is  to  pass  one  stat- 
ute, embracing  all  labels  used  by  legiti- 
mately organized  wage  earners.  Moreover, 
many  of  these  statutes  are  of  a  quasi- 
criminal  character,  providing  penalties  for 
counterfeiting  and  for  unauthorized  use. 
Appelate  courts  have  declared  these  laws 

11 


constitutional  and  not  class  legislation. 
Quite  a  number  of  cities  have  ordinances 
requiring  the  printers'  label  on  city  print- 
ing. Some  states  have  a  like  requirement  as 
to  state  printing.  Similarly,  the  ordinances 
of  many  municipalities  make  it  imperative 
that  the  city's  horses  be  shod  in  union 
shops,  and  that  the  shoes  bear  the  stamp  of 
the  horseshoers'  union.  In  fact,  the  label's 
reputation  for  rationality  is  securely  es- 
tablished. 

The  aims  and  purposes  of  the  union 
label  are: 

(a)  The  assurance  that  the  work  is  done 
under  sanitary  conditions. 

'(b)  The  assurance  of  the  payment  of  a 
reasonable  wage  and  of  a  steadily  improv- 
ing wage. 

(c)  The  assurance  of  reasonable  hours. 
Reasonableness    to    signify    that   after   the 
eight-hour  day  is  a  completed  victory,  then 
may  come  the  seven-hour  day  and  the  six- 
hour  day;   ever  remembering  that  labor's 
grand  purpose  is  the  economic  and  social 
betterment  of  the  masses. 

(d)  The  assurance  that  child  labor,  the 
menace  as  well  as  the  disgrace  of  modern 
civilization,     has     not     entered     into     the 
product. 

(e)  The  assurance  that  so  long  as  the 
intense  and  deplorable  and  inequitable  forms 

12 


of  competition,  as  evidenced  in  our  present- 
day  industrialism,  shall  make  it  necessary 
for  woman  to  earn  her  bread  in  shop  and 
factory,  she  shall  continue  to  enjoy  eco- 
nomic equality  with  her  male  co-employe. 

(f)  The  assurance  that  the  conditions  of 
the  workers  are  safer  as  to  life  and  limb 
than    are    the    surroundings    of    non-label 
toilers. 

(g)  The  assurance  that  the  product  is 
not  prison  made. 

(h)  The  assurance  that  the  products  are 
superior  in  workmanship  and  quality  to  the 
unlabeled  articles. 

(i)  The  assurance  that  the  label  is  the 
concrete  expression  and  hallowed  scutcheon 
of  conscientious  men,  organized  for  the 
purpose  of  securing  these  results  and  main- 
taining them  when  secured. 

The  aspiration  of  the  label  knows  no 
bounds.  Its  ambition  is  to  redeem  a  world. 
Nothing  in  the  whole  realm  of  unionized 
labor  is  capable  of  such  effective  and  con- 
tinuous utility.  Other  agencies  have  vary- 
ing degrees  potentiality,  and  are  intermit- 
tent in  effectiveness.  Unhappily,  they  some- 
times fail  to  win  public  sympathy,  trans- 
late indifference  into  Perryism,  intensify 
the  suspicion  of  employers,  and  energize 
auction  pens  into  a  malevolent  assault  upon 
the  labor  movement. 

13 


But  the  battles  of  the  label  are  won  with- 
out blood.  It  is  more  powerful  than  strikes 
and  picketings;  and  is  a  potent  warning  to 
tyrannical  employers.  It  is  as  puissant  in 
the  hands  of  woman  or  child  as  the  menac- 
ing declaration  of  a  labor  convention.  It  is 
the  boycott  without  publication.  No  in- 
junction can  reach  it,  no  militia  or  Pinker- 
tons  dare  touch  it,  no  pen  will  revile  it,  no 
pulpit  assail  it. 

It  aims  to  be  the  "schoolmaster  abroad," 
the  schoolmaster  at  home,  teaching  the 
women  folks  their  primal  obligation  to  the 
great  cause,  while  steadily  winning  its  way 
into  the  hearts  of  the  general  public.  It 
would  be  an  evangel  with  the  world  for  a 
vineyard — a  freemason  in  universality,  but 
benefiting  all,  withholding  from  none.  It  is 
the  supreme  teacher — one  that  teaches  by 
example;  in  store,  hotel  bar,  and  elsewhere 
the  unionist  and  unionist's  friends,  ask  for 
the  label  and  insist  on  the  label,  thus  bring- 
ing home  a  commercial  lesson  that  no  other 
method  can  impart.  It  seeks  to  -enlist 
woman  as  the  chief  auxiliary  and  trumpeter 
of  the  affiliated  legions ;  not  alone  the  wife, 
mother,  and  daughter  of  the  organized 
wage  earner,  but  through  them  and  their 
propagandism  all  other  women.  As  a  pleader 
before  the  bar  of  public  opinion  no  elo- 
quence can  match  it,  no  sophistry  can  van- 

14 


quish  it.  To  conviction  its  gives  a  soul — the 
•soul  of  enthusiasm ;  and  like  the  gifts  of 
the  gods  of  Perseus,  it  goes  forth,  full- 
armed  to  conquer  the  monsters  of  rapacity, 
injustice,  and  oppression. 

In  peace  it  aims  to  be  ever  alert,  ever 
accomplishing  results.  In  defensive  warfare 
it  is  the  most  powerful  weapon  in  the 
arsenal  of  labor,  and  when  the  battle  is  on 
it  attacks  the  enemy  in  his  rear,  captures 
his  base  of  supplies,  and  brings  victory  to 
the  sacrosanct  standard  of  unionism.  It  is 
the  one  and  only  fetich  of  the  labor  move- 
ment, an  idolatry  revealing  the  purest  of 
hearts  and  the  sanest  of  mindfe&ctoit  Libra 

It  aims  to  become  the  paramount  attrac- 
tion and  the  imperative  essential  governing 
the  saleableness  of  everything  in  the  land 
that  is  made  or  mined  or  moved. 

The  label  seeks  to  be,  by  patronage  or 
proscription,  the  great  educator  of  manufac- 
turer and  consumer,  the  trade  semaphore  of 
the  one,  the  social  arbiter  of  the  other.  The 
attitude  of  its  advocates  toward  defiant 
tradesmen  is  to  shun  their  stores  and  in- 
voke public  following  in  the  ostracism ;  but 
that  reprisal  will  bring  many  a  merchant  to 
his  senses,  and  that  invocation  will  make  as 
big  a  dent  in  a  cash  account  as  the  hammer 
of  Thor  made  in  the  mountain. 

The  label  aspires  to  attain  that  might  of 

15 


influence  when  to  vend  unlabeled  goods 
will  brand  the  vendor  as  a  dealer  in  contra- 
band; a  sweater;  a  business  buccaneer;  a 
Minotaur,  fattening  on  the  blood  of  women 
and  children ;  a  mercantile  Ishmaelite  whom 
society  will  cast  out  as  a  thing  too  unclean 
for  touch  by  honest  hands. 

And  all  for  the  glory,  the  advancement, 
and  the  solidarity  of  the  sacred  cause  of 
organized  labor. 

The  union  label  aspires  to  be  the  emblem 
of  humanism,  even  as  the  cross  is  the  sym- 
bol of  Christianity.  The  one  speaks  to 
us  of  the  world  beyond  and  of  the  father- 
hood of  God ;  the  other  speaks  to  us  of  this 
world,  this  stern,  rough-shod  world  in 
which  we  live,  and  of  its  redemption  by  the 
brotherhood  of  man. 


The  charges  which  sophists  and  enemies 
make  that  the  organization  of  labor  in- 
creases the  cost  of  living  is  absolutely  un- 
true. Comparison  will  demonstrate  that  the 
relative  cost  of  living,  to  wages,  is  highest 
always  in  countries  where  wages  are  lowest. 


Spread  the  gospel  of  unionism  among  the 
unorganized.  In  the  same  measure  that  it 
takes  root  it  will  benefit  you. 

16 


THIRD  PRIZE  ESSAY 

By  CHAS.  D.  HEMMING 

THE  union  label  is  the  hall- 
mark of  organized  labor.  Its 
origin  began  with  the  guilds 
of  medieval  times.  Their 
worshipful  companies,  built 
on  lines  analogous  to  the 
trade  unions  of  the  present 
day,  were  essential  to  municipal  liberties. 
The  guilds  were  indirectly  the  check  on 
monopolies,  and  left  their  impressions  on 
the  public  minds  of  their  day.  Their 
hall-marks  were  moral  standards  and 
guides  for  discriminating  buyers.  Rights 
and  privileges  were  associated  with  them. 
The  guild,  with  its  masters,  journeymen, 
and  apprentices,  like  its  outgrowth,  the 
unions,  was  a  fraternity  in  which  every 
member  paid  his  share  of  the  guild  rent. 
The  hall-mark  corresponded  to  the  union 
label  with  its  per  capita  paid  to  advance  its 
interests.  The  guild  had  its  mission,  which 
went  with  its  hall-mark.  So  far  as  the  times 
would  allow,  the  members  were  bright, 
elevating,  instructive,  fearless,  and  aggres- 

17 


sive  in  defense  of  its  liberties.  Its  craft 
was  jealously  guarded. 

Its  hall-mark  was  blazoned  with  dignity. 
When  Goldsmith's  hall  became  a  recognized 
authority,  standing  out  distinct  from  the 
guild  halls,  its  "mark"  became  synonymous 
with  skill.  When  labor  began  its  primal 
work  of  organization  the  rules  and  regula- 
tions of  the  guilds  were  adopted.  The 
various  crafts  put  particular  seals  and 
stamps  on  their  products.  From  the  hall- 
mark of  the  guild  to  the  label  the  transi- 
tion was  easy.  The  stamp  of  workmanship 
was  recognized  in  just  the  same  way  as  the 
hall  marks  of  the  guilds.  The  true  dignity  of 
the  latter  became  the  more  ennobling.  The 
principle  of  the  label  as  an  incQme  producer 
became  an  educating  force.  The  rent  of  the 
guild  gave  place  to  the  per  capita.  The 
glass  blowers  used  a  union  stamp  against 
the  trade-mark  of  the  opposing  forces.  The 
potters,  pioneers  in  unionization,  insisted 
on  distinctive  marks  "made  by  union 
labor,"  was  often  bracketed  or  enclosed. 
The  typographical  men  were  quick  to  see 
the  distinction  to  be  made  by  a  regular 
union  label. 

The  prompt  recognition  of  skill,  selling 
capacity,  and  power  to  support  the  union 
treasury  were  among  the  first  causes  of  its 
adoption.  It  gave  a  stimulus  to  healthy  sen- 

18 


timent.  The  union  label  evolved  from  the 
hall-mark  through  the  trade-mark  or  stamp 
was  historic.  The  guilds  emphasized  skill 
and  superior  workmanship.  Their  various 
insignias  are  still  in  evidence  in  the  many 
designs  adorning  the  union  label  list.  We 
have  already  seen  what  privileges  were 
bound  up  in  its  origin.  The  cigarmakers 
fought  a  battle  royal  for  its  adoption.  The 
printers  did  yeoman  work  to  make  of  it  a 
fixed  revenue  for  protection. 

The  first  aims  and  purposes  of  the  union 
label  comprised  ways  and  means  of  advanc- 
ing trade  unionism  apart  from  its  ordinary 
resources.  It  primarily  meant  co-operation 
of  the  best  kind.  Out  of  this  grew  the 
stimulus  for  education.  Education  of  the 
wives,  daughters,  sons,  sisters,  and  sweet- 
hearts, and  friends  of  union  men  to  its  use. 
The  guilds  in  a  measure  fought  monopolies. 
The  hall-mark  was  a  distinct  guarantee. 
The  union  label,  its  outgrowth,  becomes 
the  foe  of  child  labor,  insanitary  conditions, 
and  the  sweat  shops. 

Its  attributes  shine  with  the  cardinal 
tenets  of  fair  play,  shorter  hours,  and  re- 
liable goods.  From  its  inception  it  became 
a  trade  promoter.  It  gave  work  to  its  crafts- 
men, but  its  vital  principle  was  education. 
Among  its  more  modern  points  are  these: 

It  adds  to  business  as  a  leading  induce- 

19 


ment  to  union  buyers  and  to  union  mer- 
chants. It  keeps  trade  at  home  where  there 
is  local  enterprise.  It  benefits  the  retailer  as 
well  as  the  wholesaler.  It  individualizes 
quality  with  price.  It  aids  the  newspaper 
and  the  union  whose  tenets  it  advertises. 
It  is  beneficial  for  stability.  It  defies  un- 
scrupulous competition.  It  helps  to  estab- 
lish the  wage  scale.  It  insures  a  recogni- 
tion of  rights.  It  is  a  profit  producer.  Its 
colors  glow  with  humanity.  Its  insignias 
stand  for  health,  skill,  and  dignity.  It  is 
the  foe  of  the  "open  shop,"  and  it  points  to 
a  growing  co-operation  among  the  workers 
for  the  millennium  of  universal  rights.  It 
wins  patronage  on  merit,  indexes  character, 
and  promotes  American  individuality.  It 
stands  for  some  of  the  noblest  feelings  of 
mankind  and  womankind,  the  testimony  of 
genuineness,  the  proof  of  excellence,  the 
amelioration  of  the  wage  worker. 

The  union  label  is  a  competent  and  im- 
partial record  of  aims  and  purposes.  It  is  to 
a  large  extent  a  restraint  on  the  trusts,  for 
every  purchase  which  goes  with  it,  every 
label  which  bears  the  significant  words, 
"eight  hours,"  means  employment  to  more 
men.  It  is  the  very  acme  of  union  co-op- 
eration. 

It  aspires  to  educate  in  unity  the  masses 
through  the  unfaltering  devotion  of  its 

20 


label  leagues.  It  is  a  power  for  good  to  the 
rising  generation,  for  their  interests,  their 
rights,  and  their  liberties  go  with  its  tenets. 
It  stands  for  the  well-being  and  progress  of 
all.  It  aspires  to  unity  and  federation.  It 
gives  energy  and  impetus  to  work,  for  it  is 
ennobling,  full  of  the  highest  conceptions 
of  duty. 

It  is  the  acme  of  good  will  and  confi- 
dence, and  its  influence  is  unlimited.  It  is 
bound  up  with  consistent,  persistent,  and 
aggressive  movements,  yet  its  mission  is  a 
federation  of  humanity.  It  has  yet  to  be, 
recognized  at  its  true  worth,  for  it  is  des- 
tined to  occupy  one  of  the  proudest  places 
in  the  labor  temple  of  the  future. 

The  union  label  is  the  symbol  of  human 
justice  and  human  freedom,  replete  with 
honorable  traditions,  beautified  by  self- 
sacrifice,  and  brightened  by  intelligence 
and  heroism.  It  is  full  of  ideas,  as  well  as 
information,  for  those  who  oppose  criminal 
trusts  that  stand  in  the  way  of  the  inalien- 
able rights  of  the  union  workmen  to  the 
pursuit  of  happiness  and  progress.  The 
economic  and  social  importance  of  the  eight 
hour  movement  is  emphasized  by  the  union 
label.  It  is  a  live  factor  in  the  industrial 
development  of  the  United  States.  The 
label  affords  an  opportunity  for  an  educa- 
tion that  will  in  time  become  world-wide. 

21 


It  protects  the  purchasing  public  of  all 
classes,  as  well  as  the  union  for  which  it 
stands. 

The  union  label  of  organized  labor  creates 
the  trade  agreement.  It  is  a  most  glorious 
conception  of  equality,  the  very  incarnation 
of  those  attributes  which  beautified  the 
guild  hall-mark.  It  is  moving  toward  a 
plane  of  perfection,  though  at  the  present 
moment  it  has  just  reached  the  intermediate 
stage  of  progress.  Its  future  stands  for  all 
that  is  noble;  all  that  is  sweet  in  life;  all 
that  is  earnest  for  the  elevation  of  mankind 
and  womankind.  It  is  the  educator  of  the 
coming  generation.  Unity,  federation,  right 
and  justice,  legislation,  a  happy  and  pros- 
perous future  go  with  the  union  label  of 
organized  labor.  It  is  the  highest  type  of 
patriotism  which  springs  from  the  heart  of 
man,  and  a  factor  in  the  ultimate  attain- 
ment of  real  liberty. 


The  formation  of  a  trade  union  is  a  new 
Declaration  of  Independence. 


In  the  labor  movement  we  hope  to  tear 
down  nothing  in  this  world  that  is  worthy  to 
stand.  But  we  do  propose  to  go  deep,  deep 
down  into  the  fathoms  of  misery  and  de- 
spair and  bring  help  to  those  who  are  seek- 
ing the  light. 

22 


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